Cardinals pick Missouri State righty Petree

Cardinals pick Missouri State righty Petree

The Missouri State right-hander, taken by the Cardinals with the 275th overall pick, posted an ERA near 1.00 as a redshirt freshman in 2012. This year, he was just as impressive and silenced any lingering concerns about his right arm.

Petree, 22, was 8-1 with a 1.61 ERA in 14 starts, including two complete games, one of which was a shutout. He also struck out 111 against 19 walks in 100 1/3 innings, while holding batters to a .217 average.

"He's what you could call a pitch maker," said scouting director Dan Kantrovitz. "He doesn't have dominating stuff -- in terms of he doesn't have massive velocity on his fastball or he doesn't have anything secondary that's just his go-to out pitch -- but he knows how to pitch. And he knows how to get guys out. He's got a really solid track record of doing it at Missouri State."

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound hurler has a great feel for pitching, along with good stuff. While his fastball has improved in the past year, his changeup is his best pitch, and it has the chance to develop into a plus offering. He also throws a curveball and a slider.

Chad Thornburg is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.